Deeper Water by Ella Dunn
Emerging Australian artist Ella Dunn explores a narrative around the fragility of life and the rhythms of its never-ending, forever evolving stages of existence with her first solo exhibition, Deeper Water.
Words: Hande Renshaw | Photography: Ella Dunn
‘I found myself subconsciously sketching and painting scenes of the ocean, recent experiences that were fresh in my mind.,’ says Ella Dunn. Photo: Ella Dunn
‘Through the use of gestural brush strokes and abstraction, these bodies of water became narratives embedded with my personal experiences.’ Photo: Ella Dunn
Melbourne-based emerging artist Ella Dunn’s paintings are often storyline based, symbolic and allegorical.
Ella has a unique way of seeing the natural environment that surrounds her, transferring her personal experiences through paint brush strokes into her paintings, like pictures captured with a camera.
Deeper Water, her latest body of work, and the first 2022 exhibition for Sydney gallery Saint Cloche, was inspired by the themes in Paul Kelly’s song ‘Deeper Water’, exploring ideas around the fragility of life and the rhythms of its never-ending forever evolving stages of existence and her developing acute awareness of the passing of time.
‘I began looking into bodies of water and how they are often destination sites for contemplation and reflection. A place of constant shaping and reshaping, tides coming in and out. Being in my late twenties, I feel time moving forward, shifting, and changing like these tides.’
Every summer, Ella leaves her inner-city home to travel up the north coast to her home town by the beach. Here the ocean provides a place to reflect, where the artist subconsciously sketches and paints scenes of the landscape.
‘Through the gestural brush strokes and abstraction, these bodies of water became narratives imbedded with my personal experiences. The textural and ambiguous nature of my work scatters meaning, encouraging the viewer to create their own story and reflect on their own lives.’
“I find myself drawn to bodies of water, the sea, rivers, and creeks. Each encounter may bring something new, a different way to reflect on times past and what’s to come in the future.”
DEEPER WATER At SAINT CLOCHE
WEDNESDAY 19TH JANUARY - SUNDAY 30TH JANUARY
37 MacDonald Street, Paddington, Sydney